21-BUTEA MONOSPERMA (Lamk.) Taub.
Local name: Palas
Family: Fabaceae
Location: Behind Rauza in parking area.
Characters: Small trees, trunk crooked,
leaves trifoliate, leaflets broadly ovate.
Flowers large in groups of 2 or 3 orange in large racemes. Pods thickened at the sutures, velvety hairy, indehiscdent, splitting irregularly at the tip around the seeds.
Conspicuous plant in fields and forest around Aurangabad.
General use: Leaves are used for preparing dinner dishes. It is called as ‘Patravali’ also used for crude umbrellas. Leaves also used for wrapping of parcels. The wood is durable under water hence used for well curbs and also for rough packing. The flowers given on orange dye. Lac is cultivated on its branches. Flowers used fine from inner bark is strong and used for cough cordage. The plant yields gum (Begal kino) which is used in tanning.
Religious use: Flowers used for sacred offerings.
Medicinal use: Flowers are diuretic due to sun stroke it is rubbed on the body. Stem bark is used on snake bite. Flowers antiseptic, depurative, diuretic. Seeds anthelmintic. Gum astringent, edible given in diarrhoea. A hot poultice of the leaves is applied to disperse boils, pimples, tumorous piles, ulcers, buboes, swelling etc.
Veterinary use: Seeds are more effective for constipation in animals when given with custard apple root. Seeds used in sore trouble, vermifuge rubefacient, anthelmintic etc.